What was the initiative?

Julia supported teen after-school groups on Haida Gwaii, with the dual purpose of encouraging individual growth and empowerment in the climate justice movement. Through group activities and multimedia resources, Julia aimed to help young people discover aspects of themselves, their perception of the world, and their capacity to create social change. Together, Julia and community youth brought to life two environmental youth groups: in Daajing Giids (Queen Charlotte) and in Gaw Tlagee (Massett), creating spaces and opportunities for youth to gain confidence in their gifts and voice, encouraging individual growth and empowerment in the movement for social and environmental change.

What was the community connection?

Julia spent much of her early childhood in Daajing Giids (Queen Charlotte), a town of 900 on the southern end of Haida Gwaii, as a guest on land of the Haida Nation. While growing up on the island, Julia yearned for a space where youth could strengthen their sense of identity and contribute to building a better world. Julia applied to the Fellowship with the goal of building such a space for current youth whose sense of identity and purpose are being shaped in the midst of the climate crises and converging social issues.

How was it innovative?

In engaging with youth, Julia practiced strength-seeking, deep empathy, radical trust, and authentic vulnerability. By placing emphasis on opportunities, offering a source of nurturing, non-judgmental support, practicing trust and building youth agency, and encouraging youth to show up as their ‘whole’ selves, Julia’s programming facilitated spaces that encouraged youth to be proud of their voice, experiences, and ideas. The youth groups led and engaged with many activities over the course of the Fellowship year, including an all-island youth empowerment workshop, a clothing swap, climate strikes, municipal plastic-ban campaigns, mental health discussions, film screenings, Indigenous youth panels, zine making, letter-writing, and cultural workshops, to name a few.

What is Julia doing now?

Immediately following the Fellowship, Julia began coordinating youth engagement at Hiit’aGan.iina Kuuyas Naay / the Skidegate Youth Centre, where she worked with a small team to deliver cultural and recreational programming to Skidegate youth. In Spring 2021, Julia co-founded and launched the Haida Gwaii Media Collective, an organization that aims to address systemic issues surrounding media representation, and create new cultural industries on Haida Gwaii. The Collective offers media and production training, mentorship, community workshops, equipment rentals, and other programming to introduce community members to the skills, resources, and experience of digital storytelling.